They do not see eye to eye, and, if needed, they train guns at each other. However, 2,450 km away from their villages in Manipur, the same young people became part of a football tournament in Delhi that saw camaraderie, respect and love for sports. The young Meiteis and Kukis joined hands to make a friendly football match in the national capital a success, far away from their conflict-ridden home — a place they call India’s “mainland”.
The youngsters participated in a football tournament, which was organised by a Meitei-led student organisation, UNIKAS (United Kakching Students), while the tournament was won by the Kuki-led football team.
Keeping aside the anxiety triggered by five-month-long ethnic conflict, regular updates about violence, arson and clashes in and around their respective hometowns in Manipur, Kukis registered for the two-day football tournament organised by UNIKAS in Delhi.
News 18 spoke with the student leaders, who convinced their respective communities and made their fellow friends to participate for the sake of their “love for football”. The students call Delhi the “mainland” where they feel “safe”. The tournament was organised at Delhi’s Burari stadium on October 14-15.
Sixteen teams registered with the UNIKAS for the tournament. The member-students of UNIKAS are from Manipur’s Kakching town where the Meitei population dominates. And Kakching is located near Moreh – the area that has been witnessing ethnic violence for the past five months. Of the 16 teams, two were from the Kuki community, 11 were from Meitei, two from Delhi and Haryana, while one team was from Nagaland.
It has been seen that the youths of northeast are known for their interest in sports and music. The region has given renowned sports personalities such as Mary Kom, Mira Bai Chanu, Taba Chake and many more.
Their Innate Camaraderie
The students from both the communities said they were “no more friends” but it is their love for football that has brought them together. Bonit Naorem, secretary of UNIKAS, told News18, “We only thought about sports, and nothing else. We used to do such things in our home states too. But everyone is reeling under fear and anxiety there. But we are in Delhi, this is mainland. We feel safer here.”
“We asked all Manipuri students to join us and we also requested the local students to participate. So, we got two Kuki teams registered with us, and we are happy that our Kuki friends won the cup,” Naorem added.
Although Kuki students are happy with the development between the two communities, they say their anxiety does not disappear. “We used to be good friends. But now we are not that close. We maintain distance from each other. The memories of what happened back home linger. But we all came together for our love for sports, specially football,” said Albert Haokip, leader of the Kuki team that won the match.
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